Chess Opening Theory/1. d4/1...d5/2. c4/2...c5

Austrian Defense
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pp2pppp/8/2pp4/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w
Moves: 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5

Austrian Defense

The Austrian chess players Hans Haberditz (c. 1901–57), Hans Müller (1896–1971), and GM Ernst Grünfeld studied this defense, which was initially introduced by Italian chess player Alessandro Salvio in 1604. Black creates a lot of tension and aims to disrupt White's center and prevent White from seizing the initiative by mirroring White's moves. Typically, this defense is relatively is prone to equalize quickly, however black might seek to add a little complexity to the position:

White's responses

White will probably reply with one of the following options:

• 3. cxd5 - The classical main line in the Austrian Defense.
• 3. dxc5 - Exchanging a central pawn for a flank pawn.
• 3. Nf3 - Inviting a transposition to the Tarrasch Defense.
• 3. Nc3 - Increasing the pressure at the center.

Theory table

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c5

	3	4	5	6
	cxd5 Nf6	e4 Nxe4	dxc5 Nxc5	+=
	dxc5 d4	e3 e5	exd4 exd4	+=
	e3 cxd4	cxd5 Qxd5	Nf3 Nf6	+=
	Nf3 e6	cxd5 exd5	g3 Nc6	Bg2 c4	+=

References

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.

• 1 d4 d5 and Unusual Replies to the Queen's Gambit, Nunn, John (ed.), et al. (1999). Nunn's Chess Openings. Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.